What to Expect from Your Recruiter

The throw everything at the wall and see what sticks method is no way to work, not to mention very wall-unfriendly. And let’s remember, your company is the wall in the eyes of a bad recruiter. This is no way to grow a relationship and yet it’s the modus operandi of so many hiring agencies that are looking to turn some quick bucks.

Maybe over coffee or lunch, you hear a friend say something like “and I shoulda known when they did X that things weren’t gonna work out.” Sometimes red flags are easy to see, sometimes they’re obscured, sometimes you simply choose to ignore them. When you start working with a recruiter, pay close attention to how curious they are about the processes in place as well as the culture at your office. If they seem too dead set on finding out “who has the power to make the call” then this can be a bad sign that their focus in on the wrong thing.

Understanding your processes is especially important. Every office has its own tacit set of rules that can’t be read in a guidebook or clearly explained, yet must be inferred and respected. The same goes for culture. Has your recruiter ever asked about noise levels at your office and whether or not headphones are frowned upon? These types of things are very important if the objective is to find the right fit. They don’t have to ask that exact question, but you want to sense some detailed curiosity about the work environment.

Finding the right fit should be the objective of a recruiter. This is different from finding out how you can most quickly fill a position. That doesn’t mean speed isn’t important, it just means you want to work with someone with a longer view. One who’s trying to build trust through good placements.

About NextGen

NextGen is the brainchild of longtime telecom professionals with nearly 50 years of experience and millions of dollars in Telecom Recruiting Services. We focus on establishing long term relationships with our clients and candidates so we can recruit the best and the brightest in the telecom industry. This ‘quality over quantity’ approach is at the heart of everything we do and has resulted in successful job placements at Fortune 1000 firms worldwide.

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